Getting at the thermostat housing bolts to change thermostat

How do I get at the thermostat housing bolts to change thermostat on 1990 Buick Century LE. It looks like I have to remove half the components on the side of the engine. The air breather hookup is in the way. The car has power everything. The only plus is I can see the thermostat housing but will have to fight to get at the bolts, any suggestions?

Most thermostats are located in or near the intake manifold area. Locate your upper radiator hose, then from the hose/radiator connection, follow the hose backwards to where it connects to. The goose neck or mating part, has to be removed. The thermostat is usually located inside the port. You may have to remove other covers and or parts to gain access to the goose neck assembly. You also have to let the car cool and drain the coolant before performing this task.

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Remove the air cleaner duct, the radiator hose the exhaust crossover pipe, the two bolts on the housing remove housing and the thermostat note how thermostat is in replace the same way, install in reverse order and fill with coolant. Let run till bubbles no longer come out then top off coolant.

Locate the upper radiator hose. Follow it to the engine. Before it meets the engine, you'll notice that its clamped to a metal housing, usually mounted with 3 ten-millimeter bolts. This is the thermostat housing. Remove when engine is cool. Thermostat is inside. Remove old thermostat and replace ensuring the rubber o-ring aroung the outside of the thermostat if equipped. Good luck.

you will find the thermostat in the housing where the top radiator hose connects to the engine1, remove the top radiator hose from the engine2. undo the bolts holding the housing together ( be careful not to break them off )3. remove the old thermostat4. clean both surfaces of housing with a suitable scraper or sand paper 5. fit new thermostat & new gasket6. put housing together, put the bolts back in (do not over tighten)7. replace top radiator hose & tighten clamp 8. refill with water or coolant9. start engine & run to normal operating temperature & check for leaks.....hop-e this helps.......cheers.

The engine end of the upper radiator hose goes over a pipe stub, or nipple, and then has a hose clamp tightened around it to hold it on that part. That part is a housing, bolted to the engine, and the thermostat is under that housing.

Only 2 bolts holding it on. Not exactly a fun thing to do. Just take your time and remove anything thats in your way.. Try not to take the exhaust off however. If you break bolts on the exhaust, you have a whole new can of worms. 1 more thing,,,, try to tighten the bolt first before loosening

follow your top radiator hose to top of the engine, where it hooks up with a hose clamp. under that metal housing is your thermostat! usually 2 or 3 bolts you remove , then lift off the metal housing and take out your old thermostat and remove the old gasket with a razor blade.. install your new thermostat and gasket and away you go!! richie

Follow the radiator hoses from the radiator to the block. Check the upper radiator hose first. At the end of one of these hoses will be a housing to which the hose is connected. The housing is bolted to the block. The thermostat is in that housing.

patience , and a 13 MM wrench , you gotta get your arms in there deep , that lower bolt does not need to come all the way off , the thermostat housing has a slot at the bottom for easier access , loosen it about 3.4 of the way and you can get the housing out , experience says a premium thermostat will give you grief trying to reinstall , get a regular duty thermostat .reverse procedure.

CAUTIONWhendraining the coolant, keep in mind that cats and dogs are attracted byethylene glycol antifreeze, and are quite likely to drink any that isleft in an uncovered container or in puddles on the ground. This willprove fatal in sufficient quantity. Always drain the coolant into asealable container. Coolant should be reused unless it is contaminatedor several years old.

Some models require you to remove the air cleaner assembly from the throttle body.

Somemodels with cruise control have a vacuum modulator attached to thethermostat housing with a bracket. It your vehicle is equipped as such,remove the bracket from the housing.

On the 4-cylinder engines,unbolt the water outlet from the thermostat housing, remove the outletfrom the housing and lift the thermostat out of the housing. On allother models, unbolt the water outlet from the intake manifold, removethe outlet and lift the thermostat out of the manifold.

Fig. 1: Loosen the clamp securing the hose to the thermostat housingFig. 2: Remove the bolts securing the housing, then pull it awayFig. 3: Make a note as to which end of the thermostat fits in the housingTo install:

Clean both of the mating surfaces and run a 1/8 in. (3mm) bead of R.T.V. (Room Temperature Vulcanizing) sealer in the groove of the water outlet.

Fig. 4: Make sure both of the mating surfaces are free of any old gasket material

Installthe thermostat (spring towards engine) and bolt the water outlet intoplace while the R.T.V. sealer is still wet. Tighten the bolts 17-21 ft.lbs. (23-28 Nm) on all but the 2.2L engine. Other engines tighten to 89inch lbs. (10 Nm).

The remainder of the installation is thereverse of removal. Fill the cooling system, start the engine and topoff. Check for leaks after the car is started and correct as required.